What Laundry Can Teach You About Persuasive Writing

There are many tasks that you may not finish in a short time period: spring cleaning, filing paperwork, organizing your DVD collection, etc. Laundry is not one of these activities.

Once you start your laundry, there’s no turning back—you complete the ritual in a limited amount of time. Each step directly helps achieve your goal. The endeavor is efficient, and once you’re done, you have a fresh batch of clean clothes.

Persuasive writing should be approached in the same finite number of steps, where a tight, cohesive product emerges from your focused effort.

Here are three steps from your laundry routine that you can apply to your writing habits.

Sort it.
Before you whip out the detergent and fabric softener, get organized. You may need to separate your clothes into individual batches. Do you set aside a specific load for white items? Are there garments that need to be washed with cold water? Or delicate fabrics that need to be hand washed?

In order to clean your clothes properly, you don’t just throw everything together in the washing machine. You make special accommodations for high priority items. When writing, get your priorities in order. Make sure that you clearly state your motives. Capture the reader’s attention by immediately expressing the benefits of reading your text—let your audience know what they’ll learn or gain if they continue reading.

A number of your creative ideas may not be appropriate for your current project. Save those thoughts for another time, and concentrate on the essential pieces of information that you need to convey your message.

Clean it.
The wash cycle is the main event during laundry festivities. It’s the crucial step that transforms your dirty, un-wearable clothes back into a functional part of your wardrobe. In front of your keyboard, your intentions turn into text.

Once you figure out what you need to express to your audience, support your point with details. You’ve intrigued the reader with a provocative proposition; now turn the reader into a serious client or buyer.

Whether you’re selling a product, advertising an event, or promoting your blog, there is an action that you want the reader to take—buy your product, attend your event, or subscribe to your blog. Each sentence should reinforce this aim. Compel the reader to follow up with the appropriate action by adding elements to your text that make inaction seem foolish. What advantage will the reader obtain if he or she responds to your request?

Dry it.
Since you don’t want to put wet, soggy clothes away in your closet, your task is not complete simply because your soiled items are now clean. Time in the dryer preps your laundry for proper storage among your other clean clothing.

When you have transformed a blank page into a clear piece of writing that communicates your message, take a break. Give your eyes and your brain a rest from the subject matter before you begin proofreading. Also, have another individual proofread the text before you consider it complete. A proofreader who is unfamiliar with your objective can help determine if your writing is effective—as well as help correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors.

What writing practices help you stay on topic?

About the Author: Stefanie Flaxman corrects business, marketing, and educational documents in 24 hours to eliminate reputation-crushing mistakes from your writing. She's a professional proofreader and the founder of Revision Fairy® Small Business Proofreading Services. Connect with Stefanie on Twitter.

Three Quick Ways To Perfect Your Resume

We’re taught from an early age not to “judge a book by its cover.” Although this is a general rule of thumb if you prefer not to pre-judge someone, in practice, judgments are often made quickly—when a “cover” is all you have. In the job market, this is your resume.

Writing your resume is scary. You have to contemplate your best qualities and express them in a clear and engaging way. One page must contain information that makes a potential employer want to interview you.

When you approach resume writing from a place of passion, instead of fear, you’ll get a fresh perspective on the process. Don’t just display your work history; connect with the person reading about your professional experience. Here are three questions to ask when reviewing your resume.

Would you want to read it?
The format of your resume is the true first impression. Before an onlooker reads any words, she gets a sense of your organizational style. Do you use an easy-to-read font? How do you separate sections? How do you present your contact information?

The person inspecting your resume has many other resumes, cover letters, and personal advertisements to read. If your document looks overwhelming, it makes the employer’s job easier—she gets to put it in the “no” pile before she even concentrates on the text. To ensure that your resume lands in at least one “yes” pile, eliminate long blocks of text.

Make someone want to take a closer look at your resume. While you need to be specific about your qualifications, the one page that showcases your skills needs to have visual appeal. A glance at the document should cause intrigue. Every word on the page should highlight your personality in a succinct way. Don’t be afraid of white space. Wouldn’t you rather read short, informative text than excessive, vague descriptions?

What makes you unique?
When job hunting, you may think about how to express that you match a position’s specifications. Instead, shift your focus to what makes you stand out from the crowd. Assume that everyone applying for your desired job has the skills that the employer wants. What personal experiences make you different? What distinctions or awards have you earned at past jobs? What knowledge or abilities make you special?

If you write that you have great time-management and customer service skills, would anyone applying for the job say that they don’t have great time-management and customer service skills? You want to show that you have the necessary experience to handle the job, but you’ll distinguish yourself from other candidates if you demonstrate in a personal way that you have what it takes to rock the position.

Have you proofread each word?
Although resumes are read quickly, glaring errors are still problematic. When you’ve designed your document to look fresh and easy-to-read, mistakes are easily noticeable. The tiniest error can make your resume look sloppy—or worse—make you look careless.

Another aspect of proofreading is viewing the document from the perspective of someone who knows nothing about you. If you state that you worked for “XYZ Company,” but do not give any details about that organization, how is that listing going to benefit you? Your resume should directly promote you as the best candidate for the job. Omit or revise any words that do not support that goal.

Now is not the time to be shy. Make bold statements, have confidence in your intelligence, and get noticed. One of my favorite inspirational quotes pairs well with resume writing: It’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you’re not.

About the Author: Stefanie Flaxman corrects business, marketing, and educational documents in 24 hours to eliminate reputation-crushing mistakes from your writing. She's a professional proofreader and the founder of Revision Fairy® Small Business Proofreading Services. Connect with Stefanie on Twitter.